A Spark of Red
by ByteMeGeekette
Summary: AU - There are moments in your life when your gut tells you to run, that something just isn't right. Sometimes you should consider listening.


_**Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters found within are owned solely by Stephenie Meyer. I am merely borrowing them.**_

_**Author Note: **So I've been MIA and I know it. I'm in a deep pit of just real life stuff. It's amazing how one year can completely shatter and change everything. Below is a o/s I shared once before but thought I'd share once more. Consider it a Birthday gift from myself to those who are still following me. Please enjoy and do leave a message at the bottom if you wish. Take care darlings ~Crissa_

_

* * *

_

**A Spark of Red**

**

* * *

**

The pub was just as loud as it always was, a familiar and comforting place. Demetri and I were there to put away a few pints and celebrate the end of another successful business week. He'd managed to scrounge up a couple women who were currently trying to drag our attention toward them. Demetri was an easy sell but my companion was having a harder time.

Since I'd entered the pub it felt like I was being watched, it was distracting. It was more than just the eyes of the other guests landing on me occasionally. No, whoever was watching me made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. When I'd asked Demetri about feeling off he just shrugged and we made our way to our favorite booth.

I tried to shake the feeling but as the night progressed and the beer flowed the air felt heavier and more charged by what I couldn't tell. It was something that I just couldn't figure out.

"Come on Eddie, please dance with me?" My companion for the night whined. She was a lovely strawberry blond with crystal clear blue eyes. Demetri had introduced her as Tina.

I smiled back at her and gave a nod. I hoped it would help distract me from the weird anxiety I felt settling into my bones. I stood and pulled her out of the booth with me. Demetri winked as he pulled the red head who sat beside him onto his lap.

Once on the dance floor it became clear that whatever distraction I was hoping for wasn't going to happen. Tina was a wonderful dancer and her body was soft as she pressed against me, but I couldn't keep my eyes from darting around the small pub.

Something just wasn't right.

Then a flash of red caught my eye and I couldn't look away. At the dark end of the bar sat a small figure with a bright red knit cap pulled low. I realized it was a woman when two long dark braids peeked under the back of her cap.

I nearly tripped over mine and Tina's feet as I tried to turn back quickly to see the small woman again. Tina swore and pushed at me. "I'm sorry." I mumbled and my eyes locked on the red hat.

I felt this pull drawing me over to that end of the pub. As if feeling my eyes on her the woman turned to look in my direction. My eyes locked with hers and I couldn't look away. Her dark eyes glittered as a small smirk lifted the corner of her mouth, brightening her pale beautiful face.

I was so lost I hadn't realized I'd stopped dancing until Tina slammed hard into my chest. She slapped my shoulder and pushed out of my grasp. "Damn you Eddie!" Her heeled toe slammed down on the top of my foot and I winced.

"What the fuck!" Pain throbbed up my leg as Tina stomped off toward the booth we'd just vacated. Demetri and the red head were long gone. "Wait where are you going?"

"I'm leaving." She snapped back.

I knew I should have gone after her and apologized for being so ungentlemanly but once again my eyes were drawn to the dark corner at the end of the bar. I felt my stomach fall when what I was looking for had disappeared. I spun around slowly looking over the heads of the other guests dancing and mingling in the pub. Just as I made a full circle I saw the smallest spark of red slip through the exit.

I pushed my way toward the door, I realized as I hit the cold air that I'd left my heavy wool coat back in the booth. But if I went back for it I'd chance losing her and I couldn't allow that to happen. I had to follow her. It was more than just a simple draw, I was being pulled that direction. There was this need to find her.

Once on the street I searched both ways. Everyone around me was bundled heavily against the biting November cold. I rubbed my hands up and down over my arms to keep warm as my eyes scanned the area around me.

There was a scuffle to my left and I turned quickly the red cap grabbing my attention as the woman was laid out on the sidewalk. A man was grumbling at her about watching where she was going.

I rushed to her side and held a hand out wanting to assist her. Selfishly, I hoped that we could strike up some form of conversation. Maybe I could invite her back into the pub where it was warm.

"No, I'm okay." She all but whispered; though her voice was low and almost drowned out by the traffic on the street, it was the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. Her voice alone seemed to warm me slowly from the inside out.

"Let me help you." I managed as I reached down and grabbed a hold of her elbow. She gave a reluctant nod, and I helped her to her feet. Her dark eyes met mine and I felt my heart rate accelerate at the instant connection I felt. The hairs on my body stood on end.

"I'm sorry, I was just in a hurry. I really need to watch my step." She apologized and a small smile lifted the corner of her lips.

"I'm sure it's okay. Would you like to come back into the pub? I could buy you a drink?" I asked, only to have dread seep into my heart as she started to shake her head. She began to pull away from me and the dread turned to anger.

Before I realized I was doing it my grip tightened on her arm in protest of her departure. "No please, just one drink?"

She tugged hard and shook her head. "I can't. I must go. Please release me." She pulled frantically trying to get away from me. The error of my judgement gripped me and I loosened my fingers on her next jerk and she was once again spilled out on the ground beneath me.

I bent down instantly to reach for her. "I'm so sorry, I don't know whats come over me. Forgive me?"

She shook her head a deep frown marring her beautiful face as she scurried back away from me. She was on her feet a second later and had turned to run. I started after her. "Wait, please don't go, please I didn't mean to hurt you."

I tried to catch up with her, watching her head bob through the other people on the sidewalk. I picked up my pace but she was quicker than me. Just as she passed a theater I lost her in the crowd of people exiting it.

Frustrated, I kicked the curb and swore into the air around me. I pinched the bridge of my nose as anger pulsed through me. The emotion came on so sudden and seemed so foreign to me, it made little sense to me. She was nothing, no one to me.

I noticed though as she disappeared the weird feeling I'd had at the club vanished. So it had been her watching me, but I couldn't fathom why. And why had she been in such a hurry to get away?

I stood staring after where she'd vanished. The wind kicked up, reminding me of the cold. A shiver rippled through my limbs and I wished for my coat. I was an idiot. I ran my hands once more over my sweater trying to warm my now cold body. Resigned, I turned and headed back toward the pub.

While I walked back, I realized I was dragging my feet like some petulant child. What had driven me to chase her? I didn't know her at all. Hers wasn't a face I could recall ever seeing before. She had this flawless beauty, I would have remembered a face like that. And her eyes, which had trapped me instantly, were strange and unforgettable. What was it about her that had me acting so out of sorts?

I was almost back to the pub when I noticed a small object sparkle on the side walk. I bent over to pick it up. It was a small money clip. The small silver clip held an ID, two twenty dollar bills and had the initials IMS engraved into it. The ID told me it was the very woman's that I had chased.

As I continued on to the pub I looked at the ID, the beautiful woman's face smirked up at me. Her name was Isabella M. Swan, she was 23 years old, and lived in what I knew to be the outskirts of town. An area filled with trees and vacant land.

She must have dropped it when she fell. It was a small spark of luck, I now had all the information I needed to see her again. All I needed to do was return it to her. I made my way into the pub to retrieve my coat. I had a mission to accomplish and I was eager to see her face once again.

"Hey Edward!" Alec, the pub owner, waved at me from behind the bar, then held up my coat. I made my way over and took it from him.

"Thanks! Have you seen Demetri?" I slid my arms into the coat and quickly buttoned it.

"Yeah, he left a few minutes ago with the red head, he's already paid the tab. He thought you left with the blond."

I shook my head and tucked the silver clip into my pocket. "Nah, she left on her own. I'll see ya later Alec, thanks for holding my coat."

"No problem. Have a good night Edward. Be careful out there!" Alec went back to wiping the bar before filling an order.

I wandered back out into the cold air and pulled the collar on my coat closed to fend off the chill. I hailed a cab, giving him the address from the ID I hoped it was still current.

My heart was pounding twenty minutes later, as we turned down a winding road. Trees lined either side of the drive way and as we continued they became thicker and closer together. They gave no sign of thinning. There was no light other than the headlights from the cab.

"Are you sure there's a house back here?" The driver asked just as soft moonlight came from a break in the trees. All at once the trees opened revealing a small clearing.

"Yeah, right there!" I pointed over his shoulder and he jerked to a stop just before he hit a small motorcycle.

We both silently took in our surroundings as he pulled the car into park. He turned to look at me uncertainly. "Do you need me to keep the meter running?"

"Yeah, at least for a few minutes. I'll be right back." I got out and headed up to the mostly dark house.

It was a small single story home in disrepair. The only light that spilled from inside came from a window on the far right side. It flickered and danced giving away that it was candle or fire light.

The front porch creaked loudly as I stepped onto it. I wondered idly if the floor boards would actually hold my weight before moving toward the door. I knocked twice and waited.

For several long minutes I stood listening. The cold bit against my skin. The silence fell heavy and dead around me causing my nerves to fray slightly. I shivered and knocked again.

I suddenly felt like I was being watched from the woods and turned away from the door slowly. Seeing beyond the clearing proved useless as the trees and dark were too dense. I was startled and jumped, almost putting myself over the edge of the porch, when the door opened suddenly behind me.

I turned back quickly and drew in a breath. Isabella stood there with one hand on her hip the other holding the door open glaring at me.

"What are you doing here?" Her voice dripped with annoyance.

I couldn't make my mouth work and instead stared at her form. She stood stiffly in the doorway silhouetted by soft light from behind. Her hair was down now, flowing in long dark locks toward her slim waist. I found a little courage when my eyes made their circuit back up to hers.

I reached blindly into my pocket wrapping my fingers around the small silver clip there, I pulled it out. I ran my thumb over the engraving once then held it out to her. "You dropped this on the street outside the pub. I felt it my duty to return it, especially after acting like a jerk."

She reached out for it and took the clip from me. She stepped back slightly, motioning with her arm for me to enter. "Well... since you've gone to the trouble of coming all the way out here, why don't you come in?"

Goosebumps erupted across my skin and my heart rate accelerated at the idea of stepping into her home. Something in the back of my mind warned me not to enter. But a more centric part of myself started to push me forward. That same pull that had forced me to chase her when she left the pub.

"I have a cab-"

"Tell him to go, I'll give you a ride home when you're ready to leave." Her voice was saccharine sweet and she leaned toward where I stood on the porch. She was inches from me when she whispered. "Unless you'd rather leave, you are free to go of course. Its your decision."

Her breath was cool as it feathered across my skin, only slightly warmer than the air around us. I drew a sharp breath and was hit with a warm vanilla sweet smell, it was so intoxicating I momentarily forgot what we were talking about. On instinct alone I felt myself lean in closer to her. I swallowed as I tried to remember what I was doing.

"Do you wish to leave, Eddie?" She breathed against me and I felt my head shake itself. My body firmly planted where ever I was. My eyes were transfixed on hers. "Very well... come in then. I'll be just a moment."

Her cold hand gently took mine and pulled me into her home. I stood motionless trying to get my bearings. Quick as a whip she was out the door.

Had she said my name?

I shook my head trying to clear my head but there was a thick haze covering every memory. The dim warm room did little to help as sleepiness started to creep into my body. Maybe I'd had one too many beers before leaving the pub. I was having a hard time remembering how I'd ended up here. Did she bring me here?

The room wasn't familiar and the edges seemed blurry. There was a couch and a small coffee table. The walls were lined with what looked like book shelves. It felt cozy and welcoming.

I turned and found the beautiful woman standing just a few feet away from me, leaning against the wall next to the door. I blinked trying to remember if I'd heard her return. She did leave didn't she?

She was quite easily the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. The dark blue sweater she wore hung close to her body, a black pencil skirt that came to mid thigh showed off her slender pale legs. I felt ashamed for staring at her so openly and was reminded of her ID and her name.

"Your name is Isabella?" I asked just above a whisper. She nodded. Because I couldn't remember, I asked her how I ended up here.

"Oh Eddie, what will I do with you?" She asked softly as she looked me over.

"Edward." I corrected automatically. She smiled sweetly, the light glinting off her perfectly straight white teeth. It sent an alarm off deep in the recesses of my mind and my heart raced. Again the hairs on my body raised and goose bumps flashed over my skin. Something wanted me to flee but the information was lost somewhere between my brain and the rest of my body.

"Well that's much better, and please call me Bella." She stepped toward me. Her scent filled the air around us and I blinked trying to stay upright. "It was so nice of you to return my clip, Edward. Although, I don't think it was very wise." She was just inches away and placed her hands on the lapels of my coat, stroking the material.

"Excuse me?" I asked incoherently, trying to understand what she meant.

"You see Edward, it was a test. In one way you passed." She unbuttoned my coat slowly before pulling it open. Her hands moving to my shoulders as she pushed my coat open further, then back over my shoulders. "In so many other ways tonight you have failed."

Bella pulled the coat free of my arms, it dropped with a thud at our feet. Her hands then moved to my chest, massaging over my sweater and moving slowly downward to my stomach. I forced down a moan as my stomach tightened in anticipation of her next touch.

I became frustrated that she wasn't saying more and I couldn't grasp what she meant. "Bella? I don't understand what you mean."

The frustration fled suddenly as her thumbs brushed over my covered nipples. I groaned as arousal quickly replaced any other emotion as it moved and settled into my groin. I wanted to reach out and touch her, pull her against my body to achieve some form of friction, but my hands wouldn't move from my side.

I felt her breath once again against my skin, this time on my jaw briefly before her tongue darted out. My skin tingled at the contact, a prickling sensation radiated outward. "You don't have to understand." Her words were just a whisper against my goose bump riddled skin.

Bella's lips were on mine then; cold, firm and demanding. My hands moved to pull her against me. Her body felt firm and soft against mine. I couldn't hold in the moan as her tongue dipped across my lips and into my mouth. Her taste was beyond anything I could ever imagine and I was lost. Her silky hair tangled in my fingers as I tried desperately to pull her into myself.

She giggled as she moved us backward and I fell onto the couch. She was in my lap, straddling my thighs, pulling at my sweater until it was off and just a pile next to us. Her hands and tongue moved everywhere at once. Her own sweater seemed to disappear and her cold chest pressed against mine.

"Do you want me Edward?" She gasped against my lips.

"Yes!" Was all I managed to breath out. I didn't understand everything else but I was certain that I had never wanted anything more in that moment than to have her.

Her kisses stole my breath away as her scent left me lightheaded and disoriented. One moment I could feel and see everything; the next I could only feel as cool fingers wrapped around my now bare skin. My eyes closed as I gripped her hips tightly. Seconds later I was lost to the feel of her wrapped around me.

"Open your eyes, look only at me!" She demanded firmly and my eyes popped open obediently.

They locked with hers and I was unable to look away, ensnared by the deep dark depths. She leaned in and purred against my lips, "You're such a wonderful treat, Edward."

She began to move and I was once again lost to the feel of her body moving over mine, and the taste of her lips and tongue on my own. I felt numb as her lips left mine and moved down my jaw. Our bodies moving together perfectly. I groaned as she started to tighten and flutter around me.

My blood pounded in my ears as I whispered her name, breathless. She growled a simple "now" and I was consumed by the most wonderful orgasm of my life. My heart flew at a frantic pace and I pulled her hips hard against my own until I was buried deep inside her. I shuddered as I filled her, feeling her spasm around me.

A new sensation, warm and tugging at my throat, sent ripples of heat throughout my body. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as red hot heat replaced the soft warm altogether. It burned down my neck into the rest of my body.

Everything blazed in brilliant white light before I was plunged into darkness.


End file.
